Is it too early to say the Los Angeles Lakers are embarking on a season-defining road trip? Stuck near the bottom of the Western Conference standings and with just two road victories in eight tries, the Lakers open a season-long six-game trek Friday against Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks. LA dropped its first six away games before beating up on the lowly Spurs in consecutive days. They have played better lately but the aging stars continue breaking down making it difficult to put a cohesive unit on the floor.
The contest between the Los Angeles Lakers and Milwaukee Bucks takes place at 7:30 p.m. ET on Friday, December 2, 2022, from Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee and will air live on ESPN. BookMaker.eu will have odds for every game on the Friday NBA schedule.
NBA Opening Lines at BookMaker.eu
Odds Analysis
After a 2-10 start the Lakers are playing better basketball. They won five of six games going 5-1 ATS and at least looked respectable. A deeper dive, though, makes you wonder if they’ve really improved. Three of the wins in that stretch came against San Antonio with another over Detroit. Both those clubs are scratching the floor in the basement of their respective conference. With a chance to continue the run of success, the Lakers came up short against Indiana to open the week. LA led by 17 points early in the fourth quarter but was outscored 20-8 over the final minutes in a 116-115 loss failing to cover the 3.5-point line while playing below the total for the fourth time in five games.
Since starting the campaign 9-0 the Bucks have been average splitting their next 10 games, and it took beating Cleveland and Dallas over the weekend just to get there. The Bucks were 8-1 ATS in their season-opening streak but went 2-6 ATS in their next eight. They’re seemingly over the problems that plagued them with consecutive payouts to close the week bringing their record against the betting line to 12-7. With their 124-115 payout win over the Mavs on Sunday, the Bucks are 6-1 SU and 5-2 ATS against Western Conference foes.
Los Angeles Lakers
It’s been a tough season for the Lakers so far and it hasn’t helped that their top players are having a tough time staying on the floor. Only reserve PG Austin Reaves played in all of the team’s first 19 games and a purported trade with Indiana involving Russell Westbrook never materialized. So the Lakers are stuck with what they have for now and it just hasn’t been good enough.
With LeBron James out Anthony Davis had his best game of the season a few weeks back scoring 37 points with 18 rebounds in a win over Brooklyn. It looked like the big fella turned a corner after a slow start. In six games including that one Davis averaged 32 points and 16.8 boards while shooting nearly 64 percent from the floor. Unfortunately he can’t do it alone and with James missing nearly half the season and Westbrook struggling, it’s not a good time to be a Lakers fan.
Milwaukee Bucks
They are just a .500 team since their blazing hot start, but the Bucks remain one of the best in the Eastern Conference. And they’re going to get better when Khris Middleton returns from wrist surgery. That won’t happen for this game but his absence has given Mike Budenholzer options. As long as the Freak stays healthy, though, the Bucks are going to be a contender. Following their win over the Mavericks on Sunday when Giannis scored 30 points on 11 of 19 shooting in less than 30 minutes, Luka Doncic said what we all know calling Antetokounmpo the best in the NBA.
The Bucks have complementary pieces that make them a solid squad. Jrue Holiday averages 17.5 points and 7.4 assists and Brook Lopez is the defensive glue leading the NBA with 2.9 blocks per game and chipping in 15.8 points. And the Bucks have had a lot of success against the Lakers winning three straight and nine of the past 11 meetings while going 7-4 ATS.
NBA Odds Pick
The Lakers have a hard time beating good teams going 3-11 against clubs at .500 or better entering the week. And the Bucks are a good team that plays well at home. With LeBron back and Patrick Beverley’s suspension over, the Lakers should be as close to full strength as they’ve been in some time. Unfortunately so are the Bucks, and with better pieces around Giannis Milwaukee should end up victorious.
NBA Odds Prediction: Milwaukee Bucks / UNDER
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